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House conservatives slam rushed Medicare vote

'This Putin-esque behavior is an example of why I voted against Boehner'

Published: 03/28/2014 at 9:26 AM

(DAILY CALLER) Some conservatives were up in arms over a hurried Thursday vote on the so-called “doc fix” for Medicare, which some felt leadership tried to slip by them, after it passed in a thirty-second voice vote with very few members on the House floor.

The “doc fix” is a temporary patch to prevent a 24 percent cut to the amount of money the government pays doctors who take care of Medicare patients that is set to take effect on April 1 if congress does not move to prevent it. Owing to the tight deadline, leadership opted to bring the bill straight to the floor “under suspension of the rules,” meaning it needed a two-thirds vote to pass – a higher threshold than the normal simple majority. But it was not clear that a sufficient number of votes could be found. The bill is somewhat controversial – some lawmakers want to strike a deal for a more permanent solution, others, like Kansas Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp, think the way the patch is paid for – which partly involves time shifting sequester cuts to Medicare from 2025 to 2024 and some consider is a “gimmick.”

But the potential to not get enough votes turned out not to be an issue. Instead, most members did not get to vote at all.